Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VII : Atonement ❯ Chapter 2 - Vincent Valentine's Encounter ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Author's Note: Sorry if this is starting out slow…gotta introduce characters, it has been three years after all. Things start to pick up kind of soon, so stay with me. Also, most of you will know what is coming after you read this next chapter and there is a reason for everything and it will be explained. So I don't want anyone saying stuff like "You cant bring people back from the dead without a good reason," cuz there is one…well, decent at least. Well, on with the story! Reviews please! Otherwise, I don't even know if anyone is reading this.

Chapter Two - Vincent Valentine's Encounter

The first sensation he felt in his new life was coldness; a deep cold spreading beneath his body and chilling his bones. The hate that had filled his heart was still there, but its direction had changed. He was free again - finally.

Somehow he was also alive.

Memories came flooding back to him:

A boy with spiky blond hair.

A woman with fists of steel.

A man with a gun for an arm.

A spear-wielding astronaut.

A girl, well taught in the ninja craft.

A winged beast, who walked around as a man.

A red panther with a flaming tail.

A stuffed toy controlled by a mechanical cat.

Oh, how he had despised them. He remembered the hate he'd felt. Its strength, its potency, but also its falseness, as if it had been manifested by someone other than himself.

And the Cetra.

A stab of pain pierced his heart. None of the other lives he'd taken by force had hurt quite so much. Even as she'd died, she hadn't fought back. It was like she knew everything; like she had known him inside and out, without him having to say a word.

And yet, he had been forgiven. Purged of his cursed cells, he'd been revived from the lifestream by Their own will: the Ancient Cetra, from centuries past had sent him. They had told him many things.

He only remembered one.

"You need to save the world."

And so he slowly became aware of his surroundings, and he found himself laying on the frozen ground, his naked body covered in a thin layer of frost and the energy that had brought him back to life. His eyes fluttered open, revealing the bright green mark of his past, the Mako enhancing his strength.

No, not Mako…Lifestream.

As he began to stand, the magic swirled around him, and clothes formed around his body; black slacks, black cape, black trench coat left unbuttoned, revealing his finely toned chest. He reached down, finding the hilt of his long sword that he somehow knew would be there. As the magic disappeared, and he was left alone, he turned east and headed toward a nearby town - a town he knew far too well.

He headed for Nibelheim.

* * * * * *

Vincent brushed his long black hair out of his ruby eyes before raising his hand to suppress a cough. Dust flew and the air grew cloudy. Grabbing several books, he walked back into the dimly lit study and sat in the musty chair behind the desk to continue his reading.

After the destruction of Meteor, Vincent had only one thing on his mind - Lucrecia. His search for her had led him here, to the basement of the ShinRa Mansion in Nibelheim - Cloud and Tifa's hometown. The basement had once been Professor Gast's personal laboratory, but was seized by Hojo, the evil scientist who had created his son, Sephiroth, and all his horrific clones, before injecting himself with Jenova's accursed cells. Hojo's body had mutated quickly, making him extremely powerful, and Cloud, Tifa and Vincent had been forced to end his life when he attacked them.

But Hojo had also hurt others, including Vincent, and his lost love, Lucrecia. Lucrecia had participated in Hojo's experiments, and had given birth to Sephiroth. Vincent tried to stop her, but had failed; Hojo shot him. While Vincent was unconscious and near death, Hojo had experimented on him as well. As far as Vincent was concerned, Hojo had turned him into a monster, held inside the body of a misshapen man. Vincent's eyes continuously glowed red like molten fire and his left hand was a mechanical claw. He dared not show his face to anyone ever again, and always kept black material wrapped around his nose and mouth.

Vincent leafed through the pages of one of the new books, but found nothing. Most of the files had to do with the Jenova Project, but names were never used. Instead, everything was referred to as numbered specimens.

Vincent scanned the pages, searching for information of Lucrecia's whereabouts, but the book left him empty-handed. He'd run into her once, behind the waterfall in the center of the New Continent, but none of these books even pointed there. Vincent had rechecked that area months ago, and there wasn't even a trace that she had even been there.

Vincent slammed the book closed, sending another cloud of dust into the air. Tired and frustrated, Vincent decided it was time to retire to bed and left the mansion, heading towards the Inn.

Nibelheim Inn was located near the entrance of the small town, and as Vincent walked silently down the paved road, it seemed that everyone else was already indoors and asleep. All the lights inside the homes were off, and Vincent could barely see through the darkness of the night.

However, it seemed someone else was wandering the streets that night. Vincent noticed a figure also nearing the inn. Although it was dark, the figure had to pause to open the door and Vincent got a good look at his back before he got inside.

And it made him stop dead in his tracks.

The black cape so similar to his own.

The sword sheath.

The long silver hair.

"Oh my god," Vincent whispered, as it slowly began to rain. "Could it be?"

Vincent didn't want to believe it, but his eyes had never fooled him before.

~That was Sephiroth…~